Child&#39;s vehicle



A Jan. 19 1926.

F. STRAUSS v CHILDS VEHICLE Filed Feb. 12, 1925 A TTOR/VEY Patented Jan. 19, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT Iorrrc'la..

e FERDINAND STBAUSS, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

cinLDs vEnrcLE.

Application tiled February 12, 1925. Seria1.No.'8,610.

To all whom t may concern) y Be it known that I, FERDINAND S'rnAUss, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at New York city, county of New York, and State of New York, have' invented vehicle which 1s very often the case.

A further object of the@ invention is to pro- I vide means whereby the vehicle, when being propelled by the child can be rendered steerable and when being propelled by an adult can have its steering gear locked lso that the wheels will be yheld straight.

A further object is to provide a handle for a vehicle of this character which when not in use as a handle will serve as a bumper for the vehicle in addition to rendering the same more simulative of an automobile which as' shown is the preferredA form in which I make up the vehicle, although it is to be understood that the vehicle mayy be made 1n the form of a wagon or the like.

Referring tothe drawing wherein I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the vehicle having a handle attached thereto, theA handle being shown in outline in position t be used for pushing the vehicle. y

Figure 2 is -a top plan view .of the vehlcle as seen in Fig. 1.

Figure 3 vis a .view in front elevation of the vehicle as seen in Figure 1, the handle in this instance being shown raised.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section taken on the line 1 -4 of Fig. 1 showing oae'of the Figure 8 is an enlarged section taken on I the line 8--8 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing in detail yindicates the body of a vehicle vand 6 the bottomv thereof, the body being shaped in this instance'to simulate an automobile having the usual sides7, back 8 and hood-like front 9, the latter being hollow and providing a space in which the childs feet may rest on the bottom of the vehicle.

The bottom 6is provided with a seat portion 10 andthe mid portion thereof is provided with -side cut-outs 11 through which the childs legs may extend to allow of propulsion of the vehicle.

The vehicle body is'held in spaced relation with the ground through the medium of the rear wheels 12 and front wheels 13, the rear wheels being journaled Ato a frame14 secured to the under side of thebottom 6 while the front wheels are carried on the ends of a cross piece 15 to which is secured the lower end of a steering post 26, the same being reduced as y, at 16, where it passes through the bottom 6 to form a journal for the post, the upper end of which is provided with the handle 17 whereby the front wheels may be steered. f

In vehicles adapted for small children it is often necessary to carry the vehicle and atired child as no means have been provided for pushing the vehicle by an adult and in order to overcome this objection I pivot as at 18 to the sides of the body a substantially V-shaped handle member the sides 19 of which extend along the sides of the body and terminate in the closed forward end 20, which projects beyond the front of the vehicle and is bulged outwardly to forma bumper. This front end 20 may be a separate piece or` as shown, be made integralA with the side pieces 19 and be nickel plated to give an attractive appearance. Also it may be of tough resilient metal to resist any object with which the vehicle collides to are pivoted at their ends to the sides of 11,0

injury to the vehicle and has Ypropelled b the vehicle at a point adjacent the rear of the latter but forward of the back wheels so that when oing up a curb stone the front of the vehic e can be raised by a downward pressure on the handle.

The sides of the handle are provlded withy slots 23 which engage. the pins 24 fixed'in the sides of the body portion near the rear thereof and in position to allow the handle to be disposed at a suitable angle when in raised osition. The slots may be cut so that they will frictionally 'engage the pins 24, to prevent the accidental throwing of the handle forward when in raised position.

In orderto lock the steering. post when the vehicle is to be pushed I provide a bolt member 25 on the bottom 6 ad] acent the post 26 held in a bolt`retainer 27 which is suitably secured to the bottom 6, and in the ost 2 6 I rovide a bolt receiving cut out or ore 28. hen the handle is to be used the bolt is slid into the bore 28 and. prevents the post from turning thereby maintaining the front wheels straight.

In Figure 5 I have shown an automatic locking member which consists of a locking bar 29 through which pass the ins 30 secured in the bottom 6 and aroun which beneath the bar are disposed the coiled springs 31 and 32 to force the bar 29 towards the bottom 6. The ends of the bar 29 `are upturned as at 33 to underlie the sides 19 of the handle and at the center of the ,bar I provide a notch 34 into which a pin 35 o n the steering post 26 can be, snapped, 1f 1t is turned so as not to match the notch. Therefore when the handle is raised the springs force the locking bar 29 into position to engage the pin 35 in the notch 34- and hold the wheels straight, it being understood that they will be straightened before the handle is llfted.

When the handle is down the bar is of course forced down and held down so that the child may steer the vehicle at will.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a convenient means for adult propulsion of a childs vehicle and one which will serve a useful purpose when not in use as a handle; to protect the vehicle and the occupant. Also I have provided a locking means to beused in con'unction with the handle whereby the ve icle will travel straight. Also that instead of carrying the child its legs can be placed u under the hood, the handle drawn up and) the vehicle an adult.` Having escribed my invention what I claim is 1. A childs vehicle comprising a body portion, and a handle pivoted on said body portion for propelling the vehicle, said handle being also arranged to serve as a bumper forthe vehicle. t

2. In a childs vehicle, a member pivoted over the front of the vehicle being adapted n to serve as a bumper. 4. A childs vehicle comprising a wheeled body ortion, means forsteering the vehicle,

a han e associated with said vehicle adapted 4 to servel in one -position as-a bumper, and means for locking said steering means when the handle is used whereby the vehicle will travel in substantially a straight line.

5. A childs vehicle comprising a body portion, a member pivoted to said body portion and arranged to serve as a handle, the' end of said member extending beyond the front of the vehicle to form a'bum er therefor when said member is swung orwardly about its pivot point.

f 6. In a childs vehicle, a `member pivoted thereto and adapted to be raised to serve as a handle, said member when lowered being adapted to serve as a bumper for the vehicle and means for releasabl member in lowered position.

7. A childs vehicle comprising a body portion, a member pivoted to said body portion and disposed in a plane with the bottom of said body portion, and said member extending beyond the front of said body portion to form a' bumper for the vehicle.

8. A childs vehicle having pivoted thereto, a handle, said handle being provided with a bulging portion, for the vehicle when said handle is folded down.

9. A childs vehicle comprising a wheeled body portion, means for steering the vehicle, a pivoted handle for said vehicle arranged to swing down over the front of the vehicle to serve' as a bumper, said steerin means.

10. A chi ds vehicle having. rods normally supported at each side of the vehicle in a substantially horizontal position to serve as a bumper and arranged to be positioned rearwardly of the vehicle in inclined position to provide a handle.

11. A childs vehicle capable of being propelled by the occupant and having on it a handle by which it can be propelled by aperson other than the occupant, the said andle being so mounted thereon that it can be swun or moved from a position intol which it 1s available as a handle to an unobtrusive position or to a position in which it will appear to form part of the structure of the vehicle with or without a spring-buffer for the front of the vehicle.

In testimony signature.

IfERDnv'AlSIDv s'rRAUss.

maintaining the which serves as a bumper los? and means for locking whereof I hereunto ailixmy 

